Blueberry juice has to be one of my favorite “occasional” juices. It’s potent enough to indulge only on special occasions to avoid burning out on it’s high impact flavor. So, it only makes sense that it would be a great juice for cocktails, particularly as spring is rolling around and my head is craving berries that still are a few months away.

You can get blueberry juice from several different sources. One of my favorites is the Just Blueberry juice from Knudsen, which is just blueberry juice concentrate and water. Somewhat new to the scene is TrueBlue, a cocktail of blueberry and grape juices. TrueBlue products are sweetened, but with cane sugar rather than HFCS.

I recently received a sample kit from the manufacturer, so decided to give it a try. Straight from the bottle, its a bit too sweet for my tastes, but it reduces really well with some club soda, creating a great alternative to soda.

It also pairs well with other flavors, to make a great punch, when used sparingly. Mixed with some freshly squeezed orange juice, the flavor becomes almost floral, and a great sipping cooler when mixed up with a bit of rum or Pisco.

Blueberry Cooler
1 part pisco
1 1/2 part orange juice
1/2 part blueberry juice
ice

 

I hope that you are still on the Sizzle plan with your NCAA Final Four picks, if you have them. Me, not so much. I was crushed… literally crushed with the North Carolina vs Georgetown game.But, whether you are celebrating or just trying not to let your friends rub it in too much, the Cranberry Fizzle is a great little accompaniment. It’s light and fruity, perfect for the on-coming spring, and you can make enough for a crowd, or make just one to drown your own basketball woes… plus with wine as the kick, you are less likely to feel even worse in the morning.

Cranberry Fizzle
1 part cranberry juice
1 part soda water
1 part white wine
2 limes, lemons or oranges, sliced
Mint sprigs, for garnish

In a large pitcher with some ice, stir together cranberry juice, soda, wine, and most of the citrus slices. Serve over ice and garnish with a citrus slice and mint sprigs.

February has been teasing me. I look out the window to see brilliant blue skies and sun streaming in, only to find 30 minutes later when I’m out without appropriate winter weather gear, the grey has taken over again. I don’t really mind. It’s just little tastes of things to come… not quite winter and not quite spring. It still feels lovely to curl up next to the fire, but there are moments of basking in the sun on the deck. Which puts me in the mind of a little sip from both seasons. I love the scent and piquant of red mulled wine in the heart of winter, as well as a fresh fruity white wine sangria in May. What could be more fitting than to combine the two, for a spicy mulled white wine, that can be served hot or cold, whatever the moment required?

Mulled wine calls for playing with the spices you use to fit the flavors of the wine. I chose a Pinot Gris to mull, and complimented it’s fresh pear and honey tones, I decided to add a bit of heat with a combination of black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon and fresh mandarins. The combination was delightful if a bit on the sweet side. Fresh thyme, sage or rosemary make great additions to white wine as well, although go lightly with each or you’ll end up overwhelming the palate. You’ll also want to play with the amount of sugar, based upon the sweetness of the wine. Sweeter Rieslings, for example, are quite nice mulled, but require a bit less than the drier Pinot Gris.

Mulled White Wine
makes 3 to 4 cups hot, or a few more over ice

1/4 cup sugar
2 T honey
thick-cut zest from one orange
1 stick cinnamon
4 to 6 cardamom pods
1 t whole black peppercorns
3 cups white wine, such as Pinot Gris or Riesling
mandarin orange slices for garnish

Combine the sugar, honey, orange zest, cinnamon, cardamom and peppercorns in a heavy bottom pot, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the wine, and simmer for 10 minutes more. Strain.

If serving hot, garnish with a cinnamon stick and slice of orange and serve immediately.

If serving chilled, place in a covered container and chill for at least 1 hour. Serve with freshly sliced oranges over ice.

For more more mulled white wine recipes see the December edition of Mixology Monday, hosted here on The Spirit World.

For me, Super Bowl Weekend means one thing. What can I do to avoid the Super Bowl chaos? Many of my friends get quite excited about the game, and often there is little I can do to steer clear. But, a few of my friends have the right idea. Super Bowl weekend for them means one thing: Girls’ Ski Trip. It’s time to pack up the gear and head to the slopes, which will be very empty with all the rest of the folks sitting on a tailgate somewhere or otherwise glued to the tube.

Girls’ Super Bowl Ski Weekend means lots of opportunity for apres, and I happen to have a few favorites that I like to whip up when relaxing at the cabin. I’m a huge fan of this blood orange cocktail which uses seasonal fresh fruit. Perhaps it seems silly to travel with five pounds of fruit, but it’s all worth it when you take your first sip. This year the recent ice storms may make finding blood oranges may be a bit tricky even at home, and of course, it’s perfectly acceptable to substitute with some other citrus type. But the blood oranges have such a fantastic sweetness and bold color, it’s best to use them if you can.

Blood Orange Cocktail

For one cocktail:

• 1 to 2 blood oranges
• 2 T fresh mint
• 1 t raw sugar
• 1 shot dark rum
• Champagne or soda water to top
• ice

Juice 3/4 of an orange, reserving 1/4 for muddling. Muddle 1/4 of the orange in a cocktail shaker along with the mint and the sugar. Shake with the rum, juice and some ice.

Strain into a champagne glass, with more ice if desired. Top with champagne or the soda water. Garnish with mint or a slice of orange.

This dessert cocktail is a bit fiddley… but well worth it when you take your first sip of pure vanilla silk. The essence of creme brulee, complete with burnt sugar rim, is the perfect cocktail to sip while tucked away by a roaring fire.

Creme Brulee Cocktail

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 T casters sugar, plus more for garnish
• 1 part vanilla vodka
• 1 part Frangelico

To create the burnt sugar rim, lightly wet the rim of a glass, and dip it in a plate of sugar. Then, using a kitchen torch, carefully blast the sugar until it browns. If you don’t have a torch, you can try the broiler. Either way, make sure that you are using glass that can stand the heat… and allow the glass to cool at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before touching it! It’s best to start out caramelizing the glasses before you make the cocktail. Don’t worry… if you choose to forgo the burnt sugar, the drink itself is plenty tasty without it… just increase the sugar stirred into the cream a bit.

To make the drink, heat the cream, vanilla bean and sugar over medium high heat until it just begins to boil, stirring continuously. Remove from heat and add the vodka and Frangelico. Allow to cool slightly.

Shake with ice and strain into your caramelized glass. Also great served warm in a mug!

Bruxelles, as much of Belgium, is known for many different culinary delights… luscious chocolate pralines, my favorite of comfort foods Mussels and Frites, and of course tons of Trappist ales and fruit-infused beers. It is not necessarily known for it’s cocktails. However, on a weekend quick visit sandwiched into a week in London and visiting loads of pubs, I was getting a bit tired of beer, and found myself jonesing for a cocktail. A quick check of our guidebook pointed us to the Dali’s bar, right in the heart of all the tourist-focused seafood restaurants (35 petite rue des bouchers).

So, after dinner, we headed over to check it out. The bar’s atmosphere is all based on the works of Salvador Dali, with darkly painted walls hung with larger than life reproductions of his work and lip-shaped sofas built into the walls. The specialty cocktail menu is not much to write about, featuring just a few common cocktails like caipirinhas and some larger drink “shakers.” My caipirinha was overly sweet and made with some sort of lime concentrate… but other standard drinks, like a Black Russian or vodka based drinks were fine.The big selling point for Dali’s bar is the music, which was well mixed international trance and electronica. Each night features a different DJ. The lounge opens late… at around 10pm and stays open till 5am on Wednesdays through Saturdays.

A better choice for cocktails and atmosphere is Jesus Paradise (20 Sint-Kristoffelstraat/rue Saint-Christophe), a tiny little cocktail lounge that we stumbled into by accident. A bit removed from most of the action, the best way to describe this bar is shag-a-licious. The music, the decor, the cocktails all transported you back in time to the late sixties early seventies. At any moment, I thought Austin Powers might appear. The lounge serves food as well as drinks, and we had a few little nibblies with our cocktails. The tzatziki and bread was very tasty, and better than the decent but slightly brown guacamole with chips. The drinks were well mixed… again I started with a caipirinha, while others chose the bar’s namesake, Jesus Paradise, and a Kiwi-based cocktail.The Jesus Paradise was a deliciously fruity mix of pineapple and orange juices with vodka. There must have also been some Malibu rum in the mix as well, although it wasn’t mentioned on the menu. The caipirinha was better than Dali’s Bar, but still sweeter than the ones I’ve had in the past and the raw cane sugar in the drink unfortunately didn’t dissolve well. My next round I ordered a Batida de Coco, with cachaça and pineapple and a bit of coconut milk, and was more enjoyable.

All the while, the music would jump around between loungy French tunes to Sinatra and even a few cocktail-Christmas carols thrown in for good measure. Most of the bar’s seating was living room furniture, and we were told to move it around however we’d like so we’d feel at home. The lounge opens at around 7pm Tuesday through Saturday.

 

Dark Chocolate Martini 1 part cocoa-nib infused vodka, chilled 1 part regular vodka, chilled a tiny splash of fresh lemon or mandarin juice (optional) unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa (for rim) sugar (for rim)On a flat plate, mix together about 1T of sugar and 1T dark chocolate cocoa. Slightly wet the rim of a martini glass, and dip into the sugar cocoa mixture. Then, pour in the regular vodka followed by the infused vodka, and your citrus splash if using. If your vodka isn’t cold, shake with ice first, and strain into the glass.

Summer may be officially over in my part of the world, but someone forgot to tell the weather. After a week of rain and cold, we’ve been blessed once again with gorgeous blue skies and warm evenings. So, I’m ignoring the calendar, and clinging to my last bit of deck time with a little cocktail that is perfect for any sunny day… Chile Limeade. It’s a punch and a half, with the tartness of the limes and the bite of red jalapeños eased just slightly by a honey infused simple syrup and spiked with the liquor of your choice. The original recipe I found called for Campari, which would give even more depth to the citrusy flavors, but I decided to go a more mellow route and used a dark Rum (specifically Ron Facapa Centenario from Guatemala). Tequila or vodka would also work well with the lime and chile flavors. The beauty of this drink is that the limeade is completely made before adding any alcohol, so it’s easy to customize for individual tastes or even leave out the liquor for the one who will be driving.

Chile Limeade
(adapted from Dishing with Style by Rori Trovato)

1 part fresh lime juice
2 parts water
1/2 part casters sugar
1/2 part honey
1 red jalapeño or serrano chile, cut into thin rounds
1 part Campari, Rum, Tequila or Vodka (optional)

In a saucepan, mix the sugar, honey and water over high heat until the sugar dissolves. Stir the mixture continuously for about 4 minutes over the high heat to reduce slightly. Remove the syrup from the heat and cool to room temperature.

Lightly muddle 1/4 of the chile, and add to the lime juice. Add another 1/4 of the chile unmuddled. Then, add the lime juice to the cooled sugar mixture, stir, cover and refrigerate. The longer you refrigerate, the more heat you’ll get from the chiles. You can let it sit for up to two days, but be careful drinking it at that point!

To serve, fill a highball or juice glass with ice cubes, and add the liquor of your choice topped with the limeade, in a 2 (or 3) to 1 ratio of limeade to liquor. If using the lime cups, mix the liquor and limeade together in a pitcher of ice and then serve.

To make your own pear nectar, start with very ripe pears… ones that you could simply eat with a spoon. Wash and core the pears, and cut into small chunks. There is need to skin them, because you’ll be straining the whole mixture. Heat the pear chunks on medium in a thick bottomed pot with about 1 teaspoon of lemon juice per pear. Stir and mash the pears as they heat until you get a mixture resembling a very thick and lumpy applesauce, about 10 or 15 minutes, or longer for less ripe pears. Then take about a cup of the mixture at a time, and push it through a wire strainer with a wooden spoon, squeezing out as much juice and pulp as you can. Discard the remnants and proceed with another cupful until all the mixture has been strained. Cover the mixture and chill overnight. You can also freeze the mixture and defrost when needed.

Pear Nectar Martini

1/2 lime
1 shot vodka
2 shots pear nectar
ice
sugar for the rim

Muddle the lime in a cocktail shaker, and add the vodka, pear nectar and ice. Shake well, and strain into a martini glass with a sugared rim. Garnish with lime or a slice of pear.

Perhaps a coffee liqueur doesn’t sound like the best way to keep cool on these hot summer days. But, a little Kenya Gold blended into an espresso shake hit the spot for me.

We brought back the bottle of the smooth, sweet coffee-based liqueur on our way back from Tanzania in January as a souvenir of our brief stay in Nairobi. Kenya is known for its coffee, and this liqueur is blended from their prized peaberries. And like a great coffee should, complex tones of caramel and chocolate make their way into each sip. It’s typically served straight, perhaps with an ice cube or two. But, I was in a boozy frappuccino kind of mood, so I whipped up a little whole milk (straight from the farm), a touch of sugar, a shot of Kenya Gold and some ice in the blender and then drizzled a freshly brewed shot of espresso over the top. Mmmm. Cool, coffee goodness.

It’s unlikely you’ll find Kenya Gold in the states, but Tia Maria or even Kona Coffee Liqueur would be good replacements.